In the 15th and 16th centuries, Naha was originally a small island called “Ukishima.” Naha Port was developed by the Kingdom of Ryukyu as an international trade port on the island. In the 17th century, the island was connected to Okinawa Island by land formation with landfill, enlarging the urban area. In 1944, however, Naha was burned to the ground due to air raids. Furthermore, postwar city planning largely changed streets and blocks, and thus, it is difficult to understand pre-modern street design and geography based on the present street directory.

This report describes new findings about the geography and landscape of Naha Port and the surrounding area, in which large geographical changes were made from the 15th to 20th century. These findings were obtained by analyzing modern survey drawings and picture maps, and from the results of an archaeological digging survey.

(1) Naha City was developed on a peninsula-shape sandbar that extended from a hill on Ukishima. (2) In the 15th centuries, an arterial road was constructed to reach Tondou-zachi, a pier of Naha Port, through the central part of the urban area on the sandbar. Tondou-zachi was located at the tip of a long jetty, which was constructed from the sandbar to coral reefs. The jetty of Miigusuku was constructed by extending the jetty of Tondou-zachi to protect Naha Port. (3) From the 17th to 19th century, the Niishi-nu-umi side changed to land due to accumulation of sea sand along the coast. After a long period of land preparation extending from south to north, street design was made in a reticular pattern. On the side of the Kumoji River mouth, natural land formation and land preparation were gradually promoted. (4) In the 20th century, a modern large-scale landfill was made in Niishi-nu-umi and the Kumoji River mouth for land preparation. (5) An examination of the coastline in the area surrounding Naha Port in individual periods based on the present street directory showed that the road on the border between Higashi-machi and Nishi has been used as the arterial road since the 15th century, and that the area around the road was an urban area of Naha City in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Tondou-zachi pier is still used as the ferry port of Naha Port.